Electrify our community or face our wrath - Residents of Babile-Baagangne to MCE, NPP

The elders and people of Babile-Baagange community in the Lawra Municipality have threatened not to vote in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections come December 7, 2020, if the community is not connected to the national grid.

“Why should we suffer this discrimination in the hands of the sons of our own land? Friends of the media, ladies and gentlemen, we are by this statement, giving the MCE and the MP a one-week ultimatum from the date of this statement to electrify Babile-Baagangne or face our wrath,” said a resident in the community with over 1000 population.

They added that the Lawra Municipal Chief Executive, Martin Bomba-Ire was deliberately doing politics with the electricity issue at the community as several promises to electrify the community for more than two years have all failed.

They said the actions of the Lawra MCE, Mr Bomba-Ire and the Member of Parliament for the area, Anthony Karbo towards the Baagangne community could cause the wrath of the community against the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and that could affect the fortunes of the party in that community.

The people said this in a statement signed by Yirikye Darizu, and elder of the community, Bafaah Nyorbavuon, community youth and Benjamin Yirikye, a community youth on Monday.

“We are saddened to note that the chiefs, elders and people of this community have been discriminated against for far too long and we cannot contain that anymore."

“I recall on 8th November 2019 the MCE for Lawra, Hon. Martin Bomba-Ire assured an assembly of Chiefs led by the Paramount Chief of the Lawra Traditional Area, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Heads of Departments in the municipality and the media during a meet the press series at the Lawra Municipal Assembly Hall in Lawra that Babile-Baagangne community will be connected to the national grid before 2019 Christmas season. The period came and passed and nothing happened. Another Christmas is near and the MCE is yet to redeem that promise,” parts of the statement read.

The statement said Ambrose Dery used about eight months to connect about 80 percent of Babile to electricity in 2004 when he was the Upper West Regional Minister while Mr Bomba-Ire is taking more than two years to connect the Baagangne community to electricity.

“We are watching electrical wires hanging on electrical poles, only for the sun to burn them if bush fire decides to be merciful to them. Why should we be deceived for that long? Are we not part of Babile? Are we not part of the Lawra Municipality? Are we not Ghanaians?"

Other challenges in the community, according to the statement were lack of adequate sources of potable water, access roads and poor access to health care services which were negatively affecting their lives.